Catfishing The Minnesota

[walleyeslayer18]

My buddy and i are going to be fishing for the cats on the minnesota soon and have some questions about equipment! What size and kind of sinkers should we use?

What size hooks should we use?

what size bull heads are the best?

and does anybody ever have a problem with the bullhead moving the weight?

[harvey lee]

You can use bank sinkers and no-rolls as they both work fine. For size of sinker I usually go by the current in the river. If the current is fast and strong as earlier in the spring with the higher water levels, I go with the 5oz and as the current slows I will drop from the 5 to a 4 or maybe even a three ounce.

As far as hooks go, I have used both the 10/0 in circle hooks and the Gamagatsu regular baitholder hooks. These are the hooks that I use for flatheads.

Bullhead size I usually use a 4-6 inch bullhead.

I have never had to much of an issue with the bullhead moving the weight much but I usually use a 5oz weight.

if you are looking for no-rolls, check out the Outdoor Pro Store for those weights.

http://www.outdoorprostore.com/catfish-sturgeon-tackle.html

[walleyeslayer18]

Thanks for the info i will use those tips! im gunna go shoppint tomorrow! thanks for the help!

[ec30_06]

There are so many variables and personal preference that can go into equipment selection. Do some searching into past threads as this topic has been discussed alot by some of the best cattin guys in the area. One thing to remeber is that if you are fishing from the bank in fast current you may need a lot of weight to keep your bait anchored across the current. Bait size will make a big difference too. I have everything from 1/2 oz for fishing a small crawler on spinning gear, to 8 oz for a big bullhead in the current with a penn 320 and a heavy saltwater rod.

[Wiskers]

Well I use noroll sinkers all the time. As for weight, that varries depending on how fast and deep the water is I am fishing in. When it comes to bullheads or large suckers moving the sinker, one solution I use is to trim off the tail fin of the bait. First off it will not allow them to burry into the muddy bottom as easy plus they will have to really cause a huge disturbance and sound just to try to move around which in turn will attract them kitties. It will not kill the bait, it just makes them struggle a lot more and draw attention to them. Hooks again depend on the size of my bait at the time. I am still useing Fenwick hooks, #1 and #2. I happen to get a few gross of them a while back before they became extinct and I charish them with my life. lol...